Tomme Vaudoise

Tomme Vaudoise au Four (Baked Swiss Cheese with Potatoes and Cured Meat)

Tomme Vaudoise is a semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from the Vaud canton in western Switzerland. Here it is prepared in its classic Vaud style: sliced and baked over potatoes with cured pork, much like a raclette-style gratin from the same region.

Prep

15 min

Cook

45 min

Total

60 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •600 g (1 lb 5 oz) Tomme Vaudoise cheese, substitute with a mild Swiss raclette-style or Tomme de Savoie if unavailable
• •800 g (1¾ lb) waxy potatoes (Charlotte or Bintje), do not use floury potatoes, they fall apart
• •200 g (7 oz) Viande des Grisons (Bündnerfleisch) or cured ham, any Swiss-style air-dried beef or prosciutto works
• •2 whole shallots, thinly sliced
• •15 ml (1 tbsp) unsalted butter
• •5 ml (1 tsp) white wine (dry, Vaud Chasselas if possible)
• •2 ml (½ tsp) black pepper, freshly ground
• •1 pinch nutmeg, optional
• •60 ml (¼ cup) cornichons and pickled pearl onions, to serve, traditional Vaud accompaniments

Steps

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Grease a medium ceramic baking dish (about 25 x 20 cm / 10 x 8 in) with the butter.
2. 2 Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices about 3 mm (⅛ in) thick. Rinse briefly and pat dry.
3. 3 Layer half the potato slices in the baking dish, overlapping slightly. Scatter half the sliced shallots over them, then half the cured meat cut into strips. Season with a little pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
4. 4 Add the remaining potatoes on top, then the rest of the shallots and meat.
5. 5 Drizzle the white wine over the top and cover the dish tightly with foil.
6. 6 Bake for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender when pierced with a knife.
7. 7 Meanwhile, cut the Tomme Vaudoise into 5 mm (¼ in) thick slices, keeping the rind on (the rind is edible and traditional).
8. 8 Remove the dish from the oven, take off the foil, and arrange the cheese slices over the potatoes, slightly overlapping to cover the surface.
9. 9 Return to the oven uncovered and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted, bubbling, and lightly golden on top. The internal temperature of the dish should reach at least 65°C (149°F).
10. 10 Serve hot straight from the dish, with cornichons and pickled pearl onions on the side, and crusty bread. The cheese should be molten and stringy when scooped up.
11. 11 Safety note: ensure the cured pork/beef used is from a reputable source and kept refrigerated; if substituting with a home-cured product, make sure it has been properly salted and dried.